Representations in Brain Language and Development

The ability to understand the situations and actions that are happening around us in daily life is a central aspect of human cognition. Event cognition is becoming an increasingly important and independent field in the cognitive sciences. On the one hand, researchers approach the study of events from the perspective of language and cross-linguistic diversity, e.g., how speakers of different languages conceptualize and describe events. On the other hand, scholars explore the basic principles and the infrastructure that underlie how human beings in general perceive, segment and understand events. Moreover, developmental studies shed light on how universal as well as potential language-specific aspects of event cognition are acquired.

This two-day workshop will bring together these different perspectives from (psycho-)linguistics and language typology (including multimodal communication), neuroscience (perception, action and memory) and developmental science, with the aim of identifying general principles in event cognition shaped by our underlying neurobiological infrastructure, and the domains in which the human capacity for language (taking into account cross-linguistic diversity and multimodality) may influence event perception and understanding.

The workshop will be organized in thematic sessions, with invited lectures and discussions by renowned scholars, plus a poster session for which we welcome submissions.

Confirmed invited speakers

Gerry Altmann (University of Connecticut)
Silvia Gennari (University of York)
Sarah Gerson (Cardiff University)
Peter Hagoort (MPI & Donders)
Angeliek van Hout (University of Groningen)
Yuki Kamide (University of Dundee)
Branka Milivojevic (Donders)
Anna Papafragou (University of Delaware)
Brent Strickland (ENS & Institut Jean Nicod)
Christiane von Stutterheim (Heidelberg University)
Jeffrey Zacks (Washington University, St. Louis)

 Call for submissions

Abstract submission is closed.

Registration

Registration is closed.

Where and when:

Oct 27-28, 2017

MPI for Psycholinguistics

Important deadlines:

Abstract submission deadline: June 15, 2017
Notification of acceptance: July 15, 2017
Registration: September 20, 2017
Workshop dates: October 27-28, 2017

Organizers:

Monique Flecken
Ercenur Ünal
Aslı Özyürek

Sponsors:

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI grant

Contact:

Monique Flecken, evrep [at] mpi.nl (evrep[at]mpi[dot]nl)

 

 

Program

The full program and abstracts can be downloaded here.

Printable schedule and poster program can be downloaded here.

	DAY 1 (Fri, Oct. 27)
9.00	Registration and coffee
9.20	Welcome
Theme	Brain
9.30-10.15	Jeffrey Zacks (Washington University, St. Louis)
	Event segmentation and event memory across the lifespan
10.15-11.00	Branka Milivojevic (Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University)
	Dynamics of hierarchical event networks in the episodic memory system
11.00-11.15	Coffee break
11.15-12.00	Gerry Altmann (University of Connecticut)
	The challenges of event cognition: Object representation at the interface of episodic and semantic memory
12.00-12.45	Discussant: Peter Hagoort (Donders Institute & Max Planck Institute)
12.45-14.00	Lunch break
Theme	Development
14.00-14.45	Anna Papafragou (University of Delaware)
	Learning to talk about events
14.45-15.05	Lilia Rissman, Amanda Woodward & Susan Goldin-Meadow
	Linguistic encoding of flexible event construal in adults and children
15.05-15.25	Suzanne Aussems, Katherine Mumford & Sotaro Kita
	Can prior experience with actions shape children’s linguistic representation of action events?
15.25-15.40	Coffee break
15.40-16.25	Sarah Gerson (Cardiff University)
	Actions, events, and interactions in early development
16.25-17.10	Discussant: Angeliek van Hout (University of Groningen)
	DAY 2 (Sat, Oct. 28)
Theme	Language
9.30-10.15	Christiane von Stutterheim (Heidelberg University)
	Event unit formation under a cross linguistic perspective
10.15-10.35	Guillermo Montero-Melis
	Thoughts in motion: Effects of language experience on motion cognition
10.35-10.55	Peter Gärdenfors & Massimo Warglien
	A two-vector model of events
10.55-11.15	Coffee break
11.15-12.00	Brent Strickland (ENS & Institut Jean Nicod)
	Intuitive iconicity for events and objects: Telicity and the count/mass distinction across modalities
12.00-13.30	Lunch break
13.30-15.30	Poster session (incl. coffee)
Theme	Language ctd.
15.30-16.15	Yuki Kamide (University of Dundee)
	Language-space interface: Dynamic spatial representations of motion events in language processing
16.15-17.00	Discussant: Silvia Gennari (University of York)
17.00	Goodbye drinks

Practical information

The workshop will take place at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, room 163.

 

Information for presenters

Invited talks are allotted 45 minute timeslots (35 mins for the presentation, followed by 10 mins for questions and discussion).

Oral presentations are allotted 20 minute timeslots (15 mins for the presentation + 5 mins for discussion).

There is a (windows) computer in the conference room; presentations can be uploaded to this computer with a USB stick.

Posters can be displayed in either landscape or portrait format and they should be on A0 paper size. Unfortunately we cannot offer onsite printing.

 

Restaurants (within 10min walking distance)

MPI Canteen (MPI building, ground floor): Serves sandwiches, soups salads

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 8:30-14:00. MPI canteen will also be open during the second day of the workshop.

Restaurant De Refter (Erasmusplein 3): Serves various dairy products, bread, juices and hot meals

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday: 08:30 -19:00 and Friday 08:30-14:00

Douwe Egberts (DE) Café (Montessorilaan 3): Serves coffee, tea, cold drinks, and snacks

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday 09:00-18:30 and Friday 09:00-15:00

 

 

Travel information

How to get to Nijmegen:

By plane:

The international airport in the Netherlands is Schiphol, Amsterdam. From the airport every 30 minutes a direct train leaves for Nijmegen, the journey takes 1,5 hours (plan your journey here)

The international airports in Germany closest to Nijmegen are Düsseldorf Airport and Weeze Airport. From Düsseldorf Airport every 2 hours a train leaves for Nijmegen (change in Duisburg and Arnhem). From Weeze Airport a shuttle bus leaves for Nijmegen.

By international train:

The most efficient way from Germany is to take the international line from Cologne/Düsseldorf to Amsterdam as far as Arnhem. Here you will find a direct connection to Nijmegen.

From Hannover/Osnabrück, you change trains in Deventer.

From France or Belgium, you change trains in Roosendaal for direct connections to Nijmegen.

Links: Schiphol Airport
Düsseldorf Airport
Weeze Airport
Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways)
Deutsche Bahn (German Railways)

For a full schedule of your trip in the Netherlands by bus and/or train please check 9292 travel information.

How to get to the institute:

 By bus:

There are many direct bus lines from Nijmegen central train station to the Institute.

Please plan your trip via Bus schedule Nijmegen.

From the stops 'UMC Radboud' and 'Spinozagebouw, walk towards the Erasmuslaan and enter the Comeniuslaan, walk straight ahead and enter the small forest path in the direction of the institute. You will find the main entrance to your left.

From the stop 'Houtlaan' walk towards the St. Annastraat and turn right into the Wundtlaan driveway where there is a big sign with the institute name on it.

By taxi:

It costs approximately € 10 to get from the train station to the Institute, you can get a taxi at the taxi stand at the station. If you need a taxi from the Institute to the station, you can ask the reception to phone one for you.

 

Accommodation

Nijmegen offers several  hotels and bed & breakfasts, for example: The Mercure Hotel, Belvoir, De Prince, Credible, Bastion Hotel, and Van der Valk Hotel in Nijmegen Lent (outside of the city center, but well connected; just across from the river De Waal). Costs are around € 80 per night.